India generates over 70 million tonnes of textile waste annually, a challenge that’s far more than environmental. At MSME Sparks 2026, Enviu’s regional programme manager for India, Devansh Peshin, reframed the conversation: textile waste is a $3.5 billion market opportunity waiting to be unlocked.
Through four years of fieldwork across 14 Indian cities, Enviu has identified critical gaps in the textile waste value chain that entrepreneurial MSMEs can address. The work has already diverted 4.4 million kg of waste while creating 2,900 green jobs; 95% of them are held by women waste workers like Krishna, a Bengaluru waste picker who transitioned from informal collection to running her own profitable business.
But scaling requires more than technology. Peshin highlighted three key barriers: the economics of collection and sorting; the technical challenge of processing mixed fabrics (polyester and elastane remain difficult to recycle); and the need for supportive policy, including tax parity for recycled products and an Extended Producer Responsibility framework that rewards durability and design for circularity.
The next wave of circular businesses, Peshin argued, lies in material innovation, technical textiles, and recovery infrastructure, where players are few and capital is increasingly available.
